Treating hammertoes and other defective positions of toes using a Kirschner wire fixation is well known in the state of the art. During the healing period (healing of soft tissue and/or of bones) using a Kirschner wire fixation, a wire protrudes from the tip of the toe. A disadvantage of this known technique is that the patient is almost incapable of working, since he must wear a sort of “bumper bar” (such as a hard rail) to protect the toe and the protruding wire.
The most frequent operation for treating a defective position of a toe is the arthrodesis of the proximal interphalangeal joint, the knitting together of the bones. Frequently, only a joint resection is carried out (the so-called Hohmann operation), whereas a functional operation is also recommended, for which tendons of the end (distal) phalanx are transferred to the proximal phalanx (the so-called Girdlestone and Taylor 1947 operation). Both operations require 6 to 8 weeks of immobilization.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,712 (Cohen) discloses an absorbable implant for correcting defective positions of toes. The linear shape of the implant and the lack of cannulation so that the use of a guide wire is not possible are disadvantages of the Cohen implant. A further disadvantage is that it is necessary to remove a substantial amount of bone in order to use the Cohen implant.